''The Divine Weapon'' () is a 2008 South Korean

action drama The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

film starring

Jung Jae-young Jeong Jae-yeong (born Jeong Ji-hyeon; November 21, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is known for starring in the films '' Guns & Talks'' (2001), '' Silmido'' (2003), '' Someone Special'' (2004), '' Welcome to Dongmakgol'' (2005), '' Public Enem ...

and

Han Eun-jung Han Eun-jung (; born July 10, 1980), also known by her stage name Han Da-gam (), is a South Korean actress. She is known for '' Successful Story of a Bright Girl'' (2002), ''Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created b ...

. It was released on September 4, 2008.

Plot

During the reign of King

Sejong the Great Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...

Joseon Korea Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

faces increasing hostility from

Ming China The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. Ming China, without restraint, mounts unrelenting demands against the Korean crown, further entrenching distrust and aversion to subservience. Ming China has especially been provoked by leaked news that Korea had underway an arms development program that would undermine theirs. Mounting pressure by the threat of invasion and sending down the Emperor's commands requesting tribute of young Korean girls to be sent to China, to reduce Korea's manpower and debilitate its military capacity, the grip around the throat becomes ever tighter. It seems Joseon's fate is dependent on completing an unfinished project – that of making Singijeon or the Divine Weapon a reality. In the final battle, severely outnumbered Korean forces (less than 100 men) successfully defeated the thousands of Ming Chinese in armed combat with spears, bombs, and several finished Singijeon via several

hwacha The ''hwacha'' or ''hwach'a'' () was a multiple rocket launcher and an organ gun of similar design which were developed in fifteenth century Korea. It resembled a wooden cart with a launch pad attached, and it had up to 200 tiny Sin'gijŏn, sing ...

s. Thousands of Ming Chinese foot soldiers are killed as the arrows in the Singijeon are launched. More are killed with the gunpowder packed inside the arrows (standard Singeijeons). Those in the Ming Chinese army who remained are finished off with the large model Singijeons (대신기전, Grand Singijeon), except one of the nobles who prefers peace over warfare.

Cast

as Seol-joo *

as Hong-ri *

Huh Joon-ho Huh Joon-ho (; born April 14, 1964) is a South Korean actor. His name was previously officially romanized as Hur Joon-ho and is sometimes romanized unofficially as Heo Joon-ho. Huh began his career in theater became active in film and televisio ...

as Chang-kang *

Ahn Sung-ki Ahn Sung-ki (; born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years. He received Bog-wan Order of Cultural Merit in 2005 Culture Day. ...

King Sejong Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...

* Jeong Seong-mo as Sa Ma-soon * Kim Myeong-soo as Ggya Oh-ryung * Lee Do-kyeong as Hong-man * Do Yi-seong as In-ha *

Ryu Hyun-kyung Ryu Hyun-kyung (; born March 10, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1996 at age 12 as the younger counterpart of the protagonist in the SBS TV series ''Oxtail Soup''. In 2010, Ryu drew attention with her supporting r ...

as Bang-wook * Seo Joo-seong as Moo-saeng * Cha Soon-bae as Ming1

Release

''The Divine Weapon'' was released in South Korea on 4 September 2008, topping the box office on its opening weekend with 630,257 admissions. It led the box office for a further two weeks, and as of 9 November had accumulated a total of 3,749,611 admissions. As of 16 November, the film had grossed a total of .South Korea Box Office November 14–16, 2008
". ''

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray ...

''. Retrieved 26 November 2008. making it the seventh most popular domestic film that year.

Reception

The film was heavily criticized by Chinese audiences for historical inaccuracies and revisionism. For example, the movie depicted

and

in conflict around 1448, however in reality the two nations never fought and were in fact allies in resisting Japanese invasion. The depicted the tribute of young girls occurred under the Mongol-led

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

(1271–1368). The movie also suggested that the Ming dynasty tried to steal multiple rocket carts blueprints from Korea, despite in reality China developed rocket arrows and rocket carts that predate Korean efforts.

Awards and nominations

;

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

* Nomination – Best Director – Kim Yoo-jin * Nomination – Best Art Direction – Min Eon-ok * Nomination – Best New Actress –

;2008

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Awa ...

* Nomination – Best Actor –

* Nomination – Best Sound – Oh Se-jin ;

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Fajr International Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival (), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; ), has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It takes place on the anni ...

, "World Panorama" section * Best Technical and Artistic Achievement ;

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

* Best Film * Best Editing – Kim Hyeon * Best Sound – Oh Se-jin * Nomination – Best Actor –

* Nomination – Best Lighting – Im Jae-young * Nomination – Best Visual Effects – Jeong Seong-jin, Han Young-woo * Nomination – Best Planning – Lee Young-in

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Divine Weapon, The 2008 films 2000s war drama films South Korean war drama films Films set in the 15th century Films set in Joseon Best Picture Grand Bell Award winners 2000s Korean-language films Films directed by Kim Yoo-jin 2000s South Korean films Cinema Service films CJ Entertainment films Cultural depictions of Sejong the Great